Winery featured on weekend tour

The second annual Kaw Valley Farm Tour this weekend will feature several area farming operations.

And the lineup offers opportunities to learn a lot about all types of farming. Activities vary widely -- from tastings at a Basehor winery and milking goats at a rural Tonganoxie farm to apple-picking at a McLouth apple orchard.

Farms on the tour will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. And tickets are available at any of the 14 farms on Saturday and Sunday.

Signs will be placed on major roads throughout the tour areas.

Holy-Field Winery

This Basehor winery at 158th Street and U.S. Highway 24-40 may be done with the grape harvest, but tour participants still will be given plenty of local flavor.

Michelle Meyer, who owns the winery with her father, Les Meyer, will offer tours of the vineyard, as well as lots of samples.

"There will be wine-sampling, and we have a lot of gift items here," Michelle Meyer said.

Among the samples will be custom coffees, made with beans roasted with wine, mulled wine and food items that are for sale in the Holy-Field gift shop.

"It should be fun," Meyer said.

She did caution tour participants who want to taste wines to not arrive before noon Sunday. State laws prevent wineries from offering samples or selling wine before noon Sundays.

"If people come at 10 o'clock on Sunday, I'll just show them around," She said. "But they can't taste wine."

Screamin' Oaks Farm

Three of the farms on the tour are in the area, including Screamin' Oaks Farm, 18171 198th St., which is between U.S. Highway 24-40 and Evans Road, east of Tonganoxie. The goat farm is gearing up to cater to families on the tour.

"If they're in the mood to taste goat's milk, we'll have it here for them to purchase," owner Roxane McCoy said.

In addition, the farm will feature the many uses for goat milk.

Members of the Leavenworth County Goat Project and 4-H members will showcase goats and other animal projects.

"We'll have a farm-animal petting area," McCoy said. "The families will be able to, for a donation, feed those animals. We'll have goat cart rides. And one of the other counties, Johnson County, is going to demonstrate goat agility."

Funds raised will be turned over to a fund established to help with expenses of Sarah Smith's family as the Tonganoxie 16-year-old recovers from injuries in a recent horseback riding accident.

McCoy explained that goat agility is similar to dog agility -- in which dogs jump through hoops.

"They're doing the same thing with goats now," she said.

Tonganoxie's Vintage Soap and Bath, which purchases goat milk from McCoy for their soap, will demonstrate soap-making and have products for sale.

Children will be able to decorate a farm animal cookie and see a demonstration of how to spin goat fiber. And they and their parents can sample goat cheese.

McCoy also plans to fill a trough with sunflower seeds, in which she'll small farm animal surprises. And each child will be given a packet of sunflower seeds.

McCoy said she's pleased to be included in this year's tour -- the second annual event.

"We're thrilled to death," she said.

Wildhorse Orchard

At Wildhorse Orchard, eight miles northwest of Tonganoxie on Kansas Highway 16, owners Perry and Laurie Walters will offer wagon rides through their apple orchard after 1 p.m. Saturday and all day Sunday. Of course, Laurie Walters said, tour participants can walk the short distance to the orchard before 1 p.m. Saturday.

Along with you-pick apples, cider, applebutter and honey will be for sale during the tour hours.

Wildhorse also will offer activities for children, including a dry-bobbing tree, a healthier alternative to the traditional apple-bobbing. Walters explained that she'll tie apples to strings hanging from trees and children will try to grab an apple with their teeth.

"It's trickier than you think," she said.

In addition, Walters said, Johnny Appleseed will leave treasures in the orchard for children, and children will have a chance to participate in crafts.